CDC: U.S. High Schools Are Getting Healthier

by Katherine Gustafson · 2009-10-09 09:00:00 UTC
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A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes that U.S. high schools are less and less likely to have junk food available to students. The study, "Availability of Less Nutritious Snack Foods and Beverages in Secondary Schools Selected States, 2002-2008," was published Monday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Judging from data collected in 34 states, the median percentage of high schools that refrained from vending soda or artificially sweetened fruit drinks almost doubled from 2006 to 2008, jumping from 38 percent to 63 percent. The median percentage of those schools that did not vend candy, chips or other high-fat junk foods sprang from 46 percent in 2006 to 64 percent in 2008.

A big improvement! Over half of the schools in the study are now sending a clear message to their students: these types of food and drinks are not healthy.

According to Howell Wechsler, director of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health, that message is vital: “The school environment is a key setting for influencing children's food choices and eating habits.” He is quoted in a CDC press release.

Mississippi and Tennessee have come the farthest in turning schools into healthy places. The percentage of Mississippi schools that avoided selling bad-for-you beverages soared from 22 percent in 2006 to 75 percent in 2008. In Tennessee, 2006’s 27 percent increased to 74 percent in 2008.

"Efforts to improve the school nutrition environment are working, and Mississippi and Tennessee are excellent examples of this progress,” Wechsler said. “However, there are still far too many schools selling less nutritious foods and beverages."

Photo courtesy of Phillie Casablanca on flickr

Katherine Gustafson is a freelance writer and editor with a background in international nonprofit organizations.
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